Recovered/Located MEXICO - 4 Americans missing, feared kidnapped in Matamoros, Mexico, 3 Mar 2023

[Marysmith]

MAR 9, 2023

Everything we know about the kidnapping of 4 Americans in Mexico

The two Americans who survived a kidnapping ordeal in Mexico are back in the U.S., as questions remain surrounding what happened to the two members of the group who died.

abcnews.go.com

The two Americans found dead had blankets or sheets on top of them, a source close to the investigation told ABC News. One of the dead was wearing a surgical robe when he was found, the source said.

The Mexicans tried to seek medical attention for the Americans who were injured in the kidnapping, the Attorney General's Office of Tamaulipas said in a statement March 9. They were taken in an ambulance to a clinic, according to officials.

Cartel suspected of American kidnappings issues apology letter

The cartel believed responsible for the armed kidnapping last week that killed two American tourists and a Mexican woman in Matamoros, Mexico, issued an apology letter and handed over five of their members to local authorities, according to images circulating online and a version of the letter...

www.cnn.com

The official who confirmed the apparent legitimacy of the letter said Mexican and US law enforcement officials investigating the kidnapping strongly doubt the sincerity of the group’s apology. But they suspect the apology was issued after the attack brought considerable public attention and scrutiny onto the actions of the cartel.

The development comes after a local leader of the Gulf Cartel, wanted for past kidnappings, was arrested by Mexican authorities in Reynosa, according to a US official briefed on the apprehension.

A surgical robe? Why? That’s so odd to me.
Yes, I believe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and this is a terrible tragedy.

 

[Stunned]

A surgical robe? Why? That’s so odd to me.
Yes, I believe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and this is a terrible tragedy.

What isn’t odd? IMO

 

[Marysmith]

What isn’t odd? IMO

I just thought of like organ harvesting or something. I don’t know…

 

[Stunned]

I just thought of like organ harvesting or something. I don’t know…

That would make this whole story odder! IMO

 

[Marysmith]

That would make this whole story odder! IMO

I’m sure it’s not… but just why redress him?!

 

[Stunned]

I’m sure it’s not… but just why redress him?!

Why were his clothes off to begin with? Maybe they took him to a clinic that couldn’t save him. IMO

 

[Marysmith]

Why were his clothes off to begin with? Maybe they took him to a clinic that couldn’t save him. IMO

Maybe! Maybe they realized really quickly they had a case of mistaken identity.

 

[Marysmith]

I’m just disgusted at the comments on this crime on news reports - just have to say it somewhere where people care and have compassion.

 

[G.Keelie]

A surgical robe? Why? That’s so odd to me.
Yes, I believe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and this is a terrible tragedy.

According to the news reports they were taken to a clinic…that is probably where the robe was placed?

 

[Cedars]

A surgical robe? Why? That’s so odd to me.
Yes, I believe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and this is a terrible tragedy.

There was previous mention in articles of the shooters taking them to a clinic, perhaps a victim was prepped for surgery to remove bullet(s) but died before it could happen.

JMO

 

[Marysmith]

There was previous mention in articles of the shooters taking them to a clinic, perhaps a victim was prepped for surgery to remove bullet(s) but died before it could happen.

JMO

Yes, good thought.

 

[dotr]

Mexico kidnapping: A twisted moral code explains cartel's apology

Mexico's gangs adopt a warped code of ethics - and the kidnap of Americans broke the rules.

www.bbc.com

''By Will Grant
BBC Mexico correspondent
March 11 2023 rbbm
Four Americans were kidnapped by a drug cartel, and two of them were murdered, when they visited the town of Matamoros, Mexico. So why would the cartel apologise for the incident and hand over its own gunmen to the police?
A letter left with the cartel gunmen, who had been trussed up and left on the roadside, accused them of acting "under their own decision-making and lack of discipline" as well as supposedly breaking cartel rules over "protecting the lives of the innocent".
It was signed by the "Scorpions Group", a splinter faction of the powerful Gulf Cartel.
The letter points to the strange, misplaced sense of civic duty which many Mexican cartels claim to possess. Despite the widespread fear they sow through extortion, murder and kidnapping, groups like the Gulf Cartel and their rivals, the Sinaloa Cartel, profess a twisted code of ethics under which they believe they are looking out for the most vulnerable in Mexican society.''

''One thing that the entire mess has reminded me of was one of my own trips to Tamaulipas shortly after arriving in Mexico in 2011. It taught me something critical about the drug war in Mexico which has stayed with me to this day.
In a non-descript hotel room, I met the girlfriend of a member of the Zetas, a particularly bloodthirsty cartel which today is largely disbanded. As we filmed her in the shadows, her name changed and her voice disguised, she described what her boyfriend did. Without naming the exact organisation, it was clear he worked in law enforcement yet was also a member of the Zetas.
A cop by day, a narco by night.
"What you're telling me", I asked naively, "is that the relationship between the cartels and the state is very close?"
"No", came her chilling reply, "I'm saying the cartels are the state."

 

[dotr]

Americans' fun road trip to Mexico became days of horror

It was supposed to be a fun road trip to Mexico, a post-pandemic adventure for a group of childhood friends.

torontosun.com

'A general view of a storage shed at the scene where authorities found the bodies of two of four Americans kidnapped by gunmen, in Matamoros, Mexico, March 7, 2023. PHOTO BY DANIEL BECERRIL /REUTERS''

''LAKE CITY, S.C. — It was supposed to be a fun road trip to Mexico, a post-pandemic adventure for a group of childhood friends.
'One was treating herself to cosmetic surgery after having six children. It was a 34th birthday celebration for another.'
They rented a white van in South Carolina and set out on the nearly 22-hour trip, shooting silly videos and driving straight through to Brownsville, on the tip of Texas.

“Good morning, America!” Eric Williams said into the camera in the early morning hours after the all-night drive. “Mexico, here we come.”



''Mexican authorities, following the lead, drove the dirt roads searching. Then they heard shouts and the word: “Help!” That led them to the shack, where they found McGee and Williams blindfolded inside. They were being held next to the of bodies their friends, who had been wrapped in blankets and plastic bags, according to the Mexican investigative documents.''

 

[PommyMommy]

Americans' fun road trip to Mexico became days of horror

It was supposed to be a fun road trip to Mexico, a post-pandemic adventure for a group of childhood friends.

torontosun.com

'A general view of a storage shed at the scene where authorities found the bodies of two of four Americans kidnapped by gunmen, in Matamoros, Mexico, March 7, 2023. PHOTO BY DANIEL BECERRIL /REUTERS''
View attachment 408517
''LAKE CITY, S.C. — It was supposed to be a fun road trip to Mexico, a post-pandemic adventure for a group of childhood friends.
'One was treating herself to cosmetic surgery after having six children. It was a 34th birthday celebration for another.'
They rented a white van in South Carolina and set out on the nearly 22-hour trip, shooting silly videos and driving straight through to Brownsville, on the tip of Texas.

“Good morning, America!” Eric Williams said into the camera in the early morning hours after the all-night drive. “Mexico, here we come.”



''Mexican authorities, following the lead, drove the dirt roads searching. Then they heard shouts and the word: “Help!” That led them to the shack, where they found McGee and Williams blindfolded inside. They were being held next to the of bodies their friends, who had been wrapped in blankets and plastic bags, according to the Mexican investigative documents.''

Noting:

The cartel members drove them from place to place around the city in a harrowing ride, stopping shortly after the shooting at a medical clinic.

A doctor told investigators that two men with assault rifles burst in through a back door and threatened to kill staff if they didn’t treat a wounded person with them. The gunmen and their hostages stayed three hours at the clinic and then left, according to Mexican investigative documents viewed by The Associated Press.

 

[cvaldez1975]

A surgical robe? Why? That’s so odd to me.
Yes, I believe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and this is a terrible tragedy.

They took him to a clinic. But he didn’t make it

 

[LadyL]

Noting:

The cartel members drove them from place to place around the city in a harrowing ride, stopping shortly after the shooting at a medical clinic.

A doctor told investigators that two men with assault rifles burst in through a back door and threatened to kill staff if they didn’t treat a wounded person with them. The gunmen and their hostages stayed three hours at the clinic and then left, according to Mexican investigative documents viewed by The Associated Press.

whhhhaattttt??? they sought treatment for someone they shot?! then they obviously had the wrong target!

 

[AliceInPain]

Any updates? My quick googling found nothing...

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 17, 2023

Body of man kidnapped, killed in Mexico back in Lake City

The body of a man who was with four people in Matamoros, Mexico two weeks ago when they were kidnapped and killed is now back in Lake City, according to Graham

wpde.com

• Per Graham and Godwin Funeral Home, they picked up Shaeed Woodard's body Friday from the Charleston Airport. Funeral arrangements are not yet complete.
• Per Samuel's Funeral Home, Zindell Brown's family indicated to them that his body may be back this week.

 

[dotr]

Very moving, i feel sorry for the victims and the survivors of the kidnapping, it was worse than imagined- they wanted Ms LaTavia Washington McGee to engage in sex with her companions- she told them they were her brothers and that she was pregnant.